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Posted in full at: http://ift.tt/1rKYp1j at June 04, 2014 at 04:30AM
"While the natural/artificial and unprocessed/processed oppositions are clearly central in defining..."
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While the natural/artificial and unprocessed/processed oppositions are clearly central in defining ‘good’ or ‘healthy’ and ‘bad’ or ‘unhealthy’ food, they are cultural constructions that ignore the conditions of food production and distribution in modern societies. Many foods contain inherently occurring toxins that are lost in processing. Most fresh fruit and vegetables are subject to the addition of chemicals while they grow, and some are irradiated, sprayed with chemicals or coated with wax to maintain freshness. In the United states, for example, lemons are commonly refrigerated for between three and six months before sale. They are picked green and treated with ethylene oxide to turn them yellow, then dipped in solutions containing copper, sodium carbonate and other fungicides and coated with wax to keep them looking shiny (Visser, 1986: 270-1). Many other foods commonly regarded as ‘fresh’ and ‘natural’ such as fruit juices, milk, grains, fish and poultry are processed in some way before reaching the consumer, while others are ‘processed’ by the consumer in the home during preparation and cooking in ways that reduce their nutritional content (Warnock, 1994: 2). Food scientists argue that processing may in fact reduce loss of vitamins or enhance vitamin content, particularly if the foods are processed while still fresh. Commercial processing, it is contended, also preserves food and reduces the risks of illness from microbiotic decay, such as botulism (Bender, 1986: 47-8; Coward, 1989: 136-7).
As this suggests, the continual opposition of ‘processed/artificial’ and ‘natural’ foods is a response to uncertainty. If we can believe that a food is ‘natural,’ then we feel better about eating it. In the context of a climate of risk and uncertainty, being able to hold on to such binary oppositions and their moral associations makes it easier to live one’s everyday life.
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- I love Deborah Lupton and I cannot lie.
"While the natural/artificial and unprocessed/processed oppositions are clearly central in defining..."
“
While the natural/artificial and unprocessed/processed oppositions are clearly central in defining ‘good’ or ‘healthy’ and ‘bad’ or ‘unhealthy’ food, they are cultural constructions that ignore the conditions of food production and distribution in modern societies. Many foods contain inherently occurring toxins that are lost in processing. Most fresh fruit and vegetables are subject to the addition of chemicals while they grow, and some are irradiated, sprayed with chemicals or coated with wax to maintain freshness. In the United states, for example, lemons are commonly refrigerated for between three and six months before sale. They are picked green and treated with ethylene oxide to turn them yellow, then dipped in solutions containing copper, sodium carbonate and other fungicides and coated with wax to keep them looking shiny (Visser, 1986: 270-1). Many other foods commonly regarded as ‘fresh’ and ‘natural’ such as fruit juices, milk, grains, fish and poultry are processed in some way before reaching the consumer, while others are ‘processed’ by the consumer in the home during preparation and cooking in ways that reduce their nutritional content (Warnock, 1994: 2). Food scientists argue that processing may in fact reduce loss of vitamins or enhance vitamin content, particularly if the foods are processed while still fresh. Commercial processing, it is contended, also preserves food and reduces the risks of illness from microbiotic decay, such as botulism (Bender, 1986: 47-8; Coward, 1989: 136-7).
As this suggests, the continual opposition of ‘processed/artificial’ and ‘natural’ foods is a response to uncertainty. If we can believe that a food is ‘natural,’ then we feel better about eating it. In the context of a climate of risk and uncertainty, being able to hold on to such binary oppositions and their moral associations makes it easier to live one’s everyday life.
”
- I love Deborah Lupton and I cannot lie.
